Little Vishwanathan Anands and Humpy Konerus of Puducherry got down to some serious chess moves as the 5th King Anand Chess Club Chess Tournament got underway in Muthialpet.
Organised by KACC under the Pondicherry State Chess Association, the tournament has received around 300 entries from across South India.
Though the FIDE rated tournament is open to everyone, a majority of the participants are below 16, says S. Vasudevan, vice-president, PSCA, who has been playing chess for 43 years. “We have seen a lot of youngsters coming forward to play chess. This tournament, in its 5th year, has been a boost in providing opportunities to children here,” he says.
Suresh Krishnan, 15, a student of Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School, has been winning the State championships in a row for a couple of years now. “I have been playing for 6 years and my coach is G. Natarajan. I started taking serious interest after my father challenged me to a bet for a game which I won. I am confident I will do well here too,” he says.
Young Kavya picked up the game after a chess coach moved in next door. “I have travelled to different places including Andhra Pradesh and Mahe to take part in tournaments. I won the first prize in the state championship in the Under 11 category,” she says brightly.
“We want more children to get FIDE rating. We have plans to conduct a summer coaching camp by coaches approved by the All India Chess Federation. The parents are also very keen that their children must learn chess,” says Vasudevan.
The tournament will conclude on May 11 and there are cash prizes across different categories.
The tournament’s overall best winner will take the M. Packirisamy Memorial Rolling Trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 20,000.
